“When you have the opportunity to go to a bowl game, it says success,” Dantonio said Sunday night. “It paints the word success on a program. Obviously, the higher you go in the bowl structure, the more success you’re going to have. … I think this is a great bowl game.”

This will be MSU’s second trip to the Alamo Bowl, which is in its 17th year. The Spartans lost 17-3 to Nebraska in the 2003 game.

But the Spartans (6-6 overall) will have a tough test on their hands in the form of Texas Tech, which finished the season 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12 Conference. MSU’s quest for its first bowl win since the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic got a lot tougher during recent weeks, when two players were kicked off the team and eight others were suspended as a result of an incident in Rather Hall on Nov. 22. Dantonio said Saturday the suspended players will not play in or travel to the bowl game.

Athletics Director Mark Hollis said the university was very upfront with both the Alamo and Insight bowls about the incident.

“You have to position yourself the best you can and make sure they’re aware of how Michigan State would perform on the field and how Michigan State would perform in the stands, and we were very aggressive about letting both bowl games know what we bring to the table in both of those aspects,” Hollis said.

One of those suspended players, junior cornerback Chris L. Rucker, was a key cog in MSU’s defense, which certainly will be tested against a Red Raiders offense that averaged 36.7 points and 461.8 yards per game this season. On the flip side, MSU’s defense allowed 25.1 points and 364.3 yards per game, including allowing more than 500 yards of total offense in three of its final four games.

Senior cornerback Ross Weaver sees it as just another challenge for the defense.

“This whole season we’ve had injuries throughout the secondary, throughout the defense, so it’s just one more of those times where we have to knuckle up,” Weaver said.

MSU started bowl practice Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins said he thought the team had great focus and intensity through its first two practices.

“There’s a lot to play for here,” Cousins said. “We need to win this game.”

The Spartans have been to a bowl each season under Dantonio, losing 24-21 to Boston College in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl and 24-12 to Georgia in the 2009 Capital One Bowl. In both games, MSU faced the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft — Boston College’s Matt Ryan and Georgia’s Matthew Stafford.

“We welcome this opportunity,” Dantonio said.